


tangled in thoughts of you

by Sonni89



Category: Hart of Dixie
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-20
Updated: 2014-12-20
Packaged: 2018-03-02 06:10:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2802371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sonni89/pseuds/Sonni89
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rose and Magnolia scheme to set Lemon up on a date with Crickett. They make sure Zoe hears about it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	tangled in thoughts of you

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kwritten](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kwritten/gifts).



> Vague spoilers for the season 4 premiere, canon compliant until the last minute or so of that episode. 
> 
> Happy holidays, kwritten! 
> 
> Thank you so much to my beta, empressearwig, and to katayla for the hand-holding and helpful suggestions!

Rose Hattenbarger was not the person that Magnolia wanted to see when she walked into her father’s practice. Just because Rose was interested in medicine and being a good person, didn’t mean that Rose had to spend time with her father. Or humans in general, for that matter. 

Hands on her hips, Magnolia marched to the counter. “What are you doing here?” 

“Just sorting through some X-Rays for your dad,” Rose said. 

Magnolia rolled her eyes. Rose was far too chipper for someone sorting through creepy pictures of bones. Why? Why would anyone enjoy that? Unless they were some kind of serial killer, Magnolia just couldn’t understand it at all. But maybe that’s what Rose was. It would be just about the only thing interesting about her.

“Have you seen him?” Magnolia asked. She wasn’t really looking for him, but Rose didn’t need to know that. Or that Magnolia might need her help. 

“He’s at lunch. Anything I can help you with?” Rose asked. 

“You?” Magnolia asked, sneering the word, “I highly doubt it.” There weren’t any adults there to impress and Rose’s helpfulness was bordering on annoying. Why did she have to be so nice?

“Try me,” Rose said. 

It irritated Magnolia that she just couldn’t rattle Rose. She wasn’t fazed by any of the insults or mean comments Magnolia threw at her. She didn’t quite understand herself why her first instinct was to be mean to Rose, but it was and she couldn’t help herself. Rose was just so… _Rose_. 

“ _Fine_ ,” Magnolia said with a huff. “Lemon’s just come back from her cruise and her new boyfriend is clearly fake. All those men on a singles cruise and she couldn’t find one man she liked? Frankly, I feel a little bit bad for her.” 

“I see. The steel Magnolia has a heart,” Rose said. She smiled at Magnolia and Magnolia had to resist the urge to smile back. When she didn’t, Rose’s smile faltered just a little, and she asked, “Can I help?” 

“You probably can’t,” Magnolia said. “And I don’t have a heart. I just want to have some fun in this godforsaken town, and maybe mess with my sister’s head a little bit. I think I know things about her that she doesn’t even know herself.” 

“Well, I don’t know…” Rose said. She look perplexed, as if she didn’t know what to do with that. Magnolia liked that. She knew what to do with that.

“Oh, come on, goody-Rose. It’ll be fun. I promise I won’t set anything on fire. My sister’s the Breeland in charge of that.” 

“Tell me what you’re planning,” Rose said. 

“I want to set Lemon up on a date.” Magnolia said. She smiled, waited. 

“Well, that doesn’t sound so bad-” Rose stopped, then eyed Magnolia with extreme suspicion. “What’s the catch?” 

Magnolia tried to wait, to prolong Rose’s agony, but couldn’t. She burst out, “I want to set her up with Crickett!” More calmly, she added, “Well, I want her to think I’m setting her up with Crickett.”

Rose’s eyes went wide. “But, isn’t your sister…” she said. 

Magnolia sniffed. She hadn’t figured Rose for being narrow-minded. “Have you ever seen her be happy or fulfilled in any of the relationships she’s had with men?” 

“Well, I don’t know your sister that well…” Rose said. She looked like she was concentrating on something, and Magnolia could only assume she was trying to remember Lemon’s long list of past-relationship failures. God knew, that left Magnolia depressed. “I guess not.” 

“Ha!” Magnolia said triumphantly. “See?” 

“But wait, you said you only want her to think you’re setting her up with Crickett...” Rose said. 

Magnolia nodded, glad that Rose had been paying attention. If she was going to use her as a co-conspirator, she needed Rose to be on her toes. “Exactly. I believe she has her eyes on someone else entirely.”

“I’m confused,” Rose said. 

“I believe Lemon might be in love with a certain brunette lady doctor. Why do you think I came to you?” Magnolia asked. 

Rose gasped. “Zoe?” 

She went quiet then, clearly thinking it through. She probably hadn’t before, which was fair. It wasn't like Zoe had dated many - or any - women since she’d known her, either. But just because she hadn’t didn’t mean she didn’t want to. 

“Why not set Lemon up with Zoe directly, then?” Rose asked finally, still looking skeptical as to the brilliance of Magnolia’s plan. 

Magnolia sighed, heavily. It was like this girl didn’t understand how anything worked. She said, “Lemon needs to see that dating women is awesome, and Zoe needs to find out because she will be jealous. Duh.” 

“Well, I guess… we’ll never find out until we see what happens. I’m in.” Rose said, looking excited.

Magnolia smiled, satisfied with her work. After all, if it had been so easy to convince Rose, maybe she truly was on to something after all. Maybe what she’d suspected was true – that the feeling that Lemon had for Zoe truly were mutual.

Wouldn’t that be something?

\----

“Hey sis,” Magnolia greeted Lemon with what was clearly fake sweetness. “What are you doing this weekend?” 

“I was planning on going to Mobile with Henry to have a look at the new gourmet restaurant that just opened, why?” Lemon replied, instantly on guard. Her sister never asked her about her plans unless she wanted something. 

“Oh come on, stop. You may have the others fooled, but I know that relationship is nowhere near real,” Magnolia said. “Don’t you think it would destroy your reputation if people were to magically find out about yet another fake relationship?”

Lemon narrowed her eyes at Magnolia. She was fairly sure that her sister was just trying to get a rise out of her—Magnolia wasn’t smart enough to put the pieces together, was she? And even if she was, Lemon couldn’t give in to that so easily. “All right, fine, Magnolia. What’s your plan?” 

“Plan? There is no such thing.” Magnolia said, laughing a little fake laugh. 

Lemon knew that trick. Lemon had invented that trick. “I know a scheme when I see one, Magnolia. I’ll ask again. What’s your plan?” 

“I want to send you on a date with someone…. Crickett, actually.” Magnolia smiled at her, waiting for a response. 

“WHAT?” Lemon yelped. That was the last thing she had ever expected her sister to say. 

It wasn’t that she didn’t like the idea of dating women. Even though she hadn’t dated one before, she had given it some serious thought, and the idea seemed quite appealing to her. If she hadn’t been dating George all through college, she may have asked out a hot girl on campus… or two. She’d just never had the opportunity. Now, while Crickett was her friend, she did not necessarily want to go out with her. That could only end in major awkwardness. And Lemon Breeland didn’t deal in awkwardness. And if she were to seriously date any girl in Bluebell, it would be… No. She stopped her brain before it went there. She absolutely didn’t want to think about the possibility of having feelings for the person that annoyed her the most in the world at least half of the time. 

“Well, Crickett is your friend. To my knowledge, she’s never really been on a date with a woman before. It could be good practice for her. Maybe you could learn a thing or two as well, you never know. But mainly, do it for Crickett.” Magnolia replied, dripping sweetness with every word. 

Lemon still wasn’t entirely convinced Magnolia didn’t have ulterior motives, but she gave in. She wondered if her sister knew that she had seriously considered dating women. She still thought Magnolia wanted to torture her, but her sister wasn’t all bad. Maybe she did sense something and wanted Lemon to be happy? No, that was crazy. Not Magnolia… 

“Fine,” she said. “If Crickett is in, I’m in.” 

“Wonderful,” Magnolia replied. She beamed at Lemon. 

Lemon smiled back and tried not to be too confused by that reaction. It almost seemed… genuine. 

\----

Crickett 4:32PM: So, did Magnolia tell u about practice date idea? U in?

Lemon 4:34PM: Yes, I’m in if you’re in. 

Crickett 4:35PM: Cool. See u at Fancy’s at 8. 

\----

When Zoe finished treating her patient, she saw Rose waiting for her at the reception desk. 

“You won’t believe what I just found out,” Rose said. 

“What did you just find out?” Zoe asked. If there was one thing Zoe had learned from living in Bluebell, it was when someone said ‘you won’t believe what I just found out’ it was usually true.

“Lemon and Crickett are going on a date tonight,” Rose said smugly.

Zoe stopped, stared. “What did you just say?” She cringed, afraid of how interested she’d just sounded. She tried to be cooler. “Does that mean Lemon is into Crickett?” 

“I have no idea,” Rose said, with a knowing little smile

Zoe eyed her suspiciously. “What?” 

“Oh, nothing,” Rose said airily. “Only, it’s curious how you only asked about Lemon.” That knowing little smile got wider.

Zoe blushed. She probably just gave too much away. Zoe didn’t know why that newfound knowledge bothered her so much. That was a lie. She knew exactly why it bothered her. She’d been harboring feelings for Lemon for a while now, but she’d only become actively aware of it when Lemon left to go on her cruise and wasn’t around. Lemon being open to dating girls made her giddy, but the idea of Crickett and Lemon falling in love was too much for her to handle. She had to do something about this and stop it before it could even really start.

“Do you know when this date is happening?” Zoe asked, trying not to sound too interested. 

“Tonight at 8 at Fancy’s,” Rose replied. The look on her face told Zoe she wasn’t fooling anyone.

“I said nothing and you know nothing,” Zoe said. She raised an eyebrow at Rose. “Got it?” 

Rose nodded. 

\----

Lemon and Crickett arrived at the only halfway renovated Fancy’s at the same time. A very attentive waiter (of course he was; Lemon was responsible for overseeing their training, after all) led them into the back room, where rose petals led the way to the table and a bottle of champagne waited for them on the table, resting in an ice bucket decorated with red roses and tacky plastic hearts. 

“What… is this?” Crickett asked, looking confused. “I thought this was a practice date.” 

“Magnolia,” Lemon hissed under her breath. Out loud, she said, “Crickett, I swear, I had no idea. Magnolia must have done this.” 

“Are you okay with this?” Crickett asked, looking not at all okay with it herself. “We can go somewhere else. This was a dumb idea anyway.” 

Lemon knew this could not be easy for Crickett. Coming out in a town like Bluebell wasn’t easy, and Crickett had dealt with it all with class. Well- minus her apparent hiding out for a few weeks, but really, no one could blame her for that. The whole situation made Lemon respect her friend so much more.

And so she said, “No. This is your practice date. Tonight, I will be your perfect date. You won’t know what hit you. Don’t blame me if you fall in love with me.” Lemon laughed, so that Crickett would know it was a joke. 

Crickett visibly relaxed at Lemon’s words. “Won’t be a problem,” Crickett said, finally laughing at the situation too. 

“Hey, don’t discount me that fast,” Lemon said. She was glad both she and Crickett were so at ease with the situation. It didn’t happen every day that you practice dated your good friend, after all. 

“It’s not that,” Crickett said. She blushed. “It’s just… I met someone.”

“Crickett! Tell me more,” Lemon practically demanded. 

“Well, do you remember the pretty lady who trained the volunteer firefighters?” Cricket asked. Her whole face lit up as she smiled, and if ever there was a sign of genuine infatuation, Lemon was certain it was that.

“Oh my god! That is wonderful,” Lemon said. She was genuinely happy for her friend. She almost didn’t recognize herself. She should be seething in jealousy, but she really wasn’t. If anything, Crickett gave her hope that she might someday find someone good. 

“Well, yes and no. We’re going out this weekend, but I’ve never dated a girl before and I’ve gotten rusty when it comes to dating anyone at all. Why do you think I agreed to this practice date?” Crickett asked. 

“Because you’re into me?” Lemon winked at her. She wasn’t serious. She’d actually had no idea why Crickett had agreed, and maybe she was secretly hoping that maybe, just maybe, Crickett had liked her. She missed the feeling of someone liking her, and while she could not imagine being in a relationship with Crickett or potentially destroying their friendship, she hated to admit that it would have been nice to have Crickett like her. Not as nice as a certain someone else liking her, but Lemon knew that was never going to happen. 

“You wish,” Crickett replied with a chuckle. “Anyhow, let’s order some food. We have a whole bottle of champagne here to keep us company, and I want to hear all about your cruise.” 

“Deal,” Lemon said. “Though if we’re going to talk about the cruise, I have to tell you something upfront.” She paused, waiting to make sure she had Crickett’s full attention. When she was sure she did, Lemon went on. “Henry and I aren’t really dating. We just want to placate our grandmothers. He’s a nice guy, but I am not at all attracted to him.” 

“Wait, really?” Crickett looked shocked. “I just came out as lesbian and even I think he’s hot.”

“I don’t know what it is. He’s a nice guy, but there will never be more between us,” Lemon said. 

A waiter came by to take their order. They continued their conversation and kept talking throughout the evening. Their talk was surprisingly nice and never stilted. Talking to Crickett about her new love interest, soon-to-be date, whatever they were, was actually enjoyable. She didn’t even hate Crickett for being so happy. That cruise really had messed with her mind. 

They had already enjoyed three great courses of a four-course meal and had just ordered a second bottle when there was a thud and the sound of breaking glass. Feet stuck out into the doorway towards where they were sitting. Women’s feet, which was odd, as they had only had male waiters all night. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt,” said a voice that sounded strangely like- oh no. 

Zoe Hart appeared, her clothes drenched in champagne. 

“What are you doing here?” Lemon asked. 

She was annoyed. She didn’t even really know why, because it wasn’t like Zoe was interrupting a real date. Most of the time, Lemon actually liked Zoe now. If she was being honest with herself, which she was not, she really liked her and if she thought long and hard about it, there wasn’t that much wrong with her, her terrible choices in men aside. And she still looked beautiful, even when she looked like someone had attacked half of her with water balloons. Wet Zoe definitely wasn't something she wanted to think about right now, though. She was also here with Crickett, not Zoe, she reminded herself. 

“I just wanted to bring you another bottle and see how your date was going,” Zoe said. “Clearly, that did not work out as planned.” 

“Clearly,” Lemon replied surly. She’d decided not to bring up that she and Crickett weren’t on a _real_ date. Zoe could believe whatever she wanted to. It wasn’t as if Lemon cared what she thought, or if Zoe would care that they were on a date. “How did you even know about our date?” 

“Rose told me.” Zoe said. 

“How in the world does Rose know about our date?” Crickett asked. She looked perplexed and really, Lemon couldn’t blame her for that.

“Magnolia told her,” Zoe told them. 

“Since when are they friends?” Lemon asked. She shook her head, not expecting an answer. “Doesn’t anything stay secret in this town?” She didn’t really expect an affirmative answer to that question either. She had grown up here after all. Lemon shot an apologetic look at Crickett. 

“Of course not,” Zoe said. 

“None of that explains why you are here, though,” Lemon told her. 

“I just wanted to see how your date was going,” Zoe said. She looked shifty, Lemon thought. Clearly that wasn’t the whole truth. 

“Why?” Crickett asked. “We’re not really friends. You and Lemon aren’t really friends. Why do you care?” 

Sometimes, Lemon really loved that Crickett was her friend. This was one of those times, especially since Zoe visibly got flustered. 

“Umm, well, because I like you and I hope you are happy together?” She tried to seem all nonchalant, but there was definitely something off about Zoe tonight. More off, that was. 

“I don’t believe it,” Crickett said. 

Lemon laughed. She didn’t know what had gotten into Crickett to make her so forthright, but since Lemon still didn’t understand what Zoe Hart was doing there on Lemon’s not-date, she would take answers any way she could get them. And if Crickett was going to get them for her, that was all the better.

“I was curious, okay?” Zoe said. Without asking permission, she drew up a chair to their table and sat down. “I’ll only stay for a minute.”

Lemon couldn’t believe Zoe’s audacity. Of course she and Crickett weren’t on a real date, but Zoe didn’t know that. You didn’t just interrupt someone’s date to sit down and chat. 

There was something strange going on with Zoe though, and she didn’t look like she was going to share anytime soon. She just kept staring at Lemon, for whatever reason. It made Lemon somewhat uneasy. Crickett seemed to have noticed Zoe’s weird behavior, too, and motioned for Lemon to excuse herself. If anyone could get to the bottom of this, it would be Crickett. 

“I’m going to go powder my nose,” Lemon said. “Don’t mind me, you stay and chat,” she said in Zoe’s direction and headed for the ladies’ room. 

She hoped Crickett would find out what in the world was going on. She and Zoe were on friendly terms, but it really wasn’t okay for her to interrupt someone else’s date and she didn’t really understand why Zoe would do that... unless she _liked_ them. It slowly dawned on Lemon. ‘Oh,’ she exclaimed out loud to a fortunately empty ladies’ room. That’s why Zoe was staring her down and Crickett motioned for her to leave. Zoe liked Crickett. She felt a pang of jealousy that confused her tremendously. She didn’t think about it, and instead got angry. Lemon couldn’t believe Zoe would interrupt their date to steal Crickett from her. Even though theirs was a friend-date, that still wasn’t cool at all. 

\----

“What is going on with you?” Crickett asked, once they were alone. Nothing about Zoe being there made any sense at all.

“Nothing’s going on. I told you, I just wanted to see how you were doing,” Zoe said.

“You’re full of shit,” Crickett said, maybe more loudly than necessary. She was glad they were in their own private dining room. 

“Crickett!” Zoe exclaimed. 

“I know a liar when I see one,” Crickett told her, “and you _are_ full of shit.” 

“Okay, fine. There is something going on, and I don’t quite know how to talk about this to anyone.” Zoe looked incredibly uncomfortable in her own skin. “But I think you might be able to help.” 

“I’m not sure why of all people you chose to talk to me, we barely talk to each other,” Crickett said, confused. She wasn’t sure at all what she might be able to help Zoe with. 

“I’ve been having these feelings,” Zoe started, then stopped. She looked like she wasn’t sure what to say next. Or if she should really say anything else at all.

Oh no, feelings were never a good start. Crickett really didn’t want to hear about Zoe’s latest boy drama. It was probably about Wade. 

“Okay? I’m not sure I can help you with your latest Wade crisis,” Crickett said, as nicely as she could while still trying to convince her not to share. Just because she didn’t want to hear it, didn’t mean she had to be mean or anything.

“It’s not about Wade. We’re done. I think you may be the only person in this town who can help me with my current feelings,” Zoe said. She stared at Crickett intently. It was like she was waiting for Crickett to pick up some kind of hint, and—OH.

She did. Her eyes widened.

“You mean, you’ve been having feelings for a girl?” Crickett asked. She couldn’t believe this. Zoe Hart, dater-of-men extraordinaire? If she was being fair, she was married to a man up until recently, though, so who was she to judge? 

“Maybe,” Zoe said, still looking incredibly flustered. “I mean, don’t get me wrong. I like men, too. But there’s this one woman and I just can’t stop thinking about her. She drives me crazy, but I’ve been having these thoughts… and dreams…. and I don’t think they’ll stop anytime soon,” she said. “Can you help me?” Zoe asked, sounding desperate. She looked it too, for that matter. 

“Well,” Crickett said, taking pity on her, “there isn’t much to help. You’ll have to figure out for yourself whether this is something you want to pursue or not. If you do, you may have to tell the other girl and risk that she doesn’t feel the same way, like with any previous relationship you may have had in the past.” 

“I can’t tell her. While there is a chance that she may be into girls, she doesn’t even like me most of the time.” Zoe blushed a little bit. 

“Oh my god,” Crickett shouted, then added in a whisper, “You like Lemon?” 

Zoe got really flustered then. “Maybe.”

If Crickett had made bets on how this evening was going to go, she would have lost a hell of a lot of money right about now. She had not seen this one coming, not even in the slightest. Zoe Hart liked… Lemon? Crickett loved her friend, but why did Zoe like her of all people? 

“Why?” Crickett asked. She genuinely wanted to know. She’d only seen the two of them be civil to each other a handful of times. To be fair, those were all recently, but still? A few months of civility didn’t mean crushes, did it? Or maybe even love? 

“I don’t know. She’s accomplished so much, she’s smart and brilliant and doesn’t take shit from anyone. We’ve gotten along recently and I’ve actually found it really easy to talk to her. And she’s crazy hot.” Zoe sighed and looked dreamy. Crickett could practically see Zoe’s eyes turning heart-shaped. 

Zoe sighed again and shook her head like she was trying to clear out all the romance. “Wow, I’m so sorry. Here you are on a date with her, and I’m telling you all about how I possibly maybe like your date.” 

Crickett knew how impulsive Zoe could be. 

“Don’t worry, we’re not on a real date. I’m actually interested in someone else,” Crickett said. 

Zoe visibly relaxed when she heard this. Wow, she’s really got it bad, it seemed, if she couldn’t even handle the idea of Lemon being on a date with someone else. 

“Wow, that’s great! Congratulations!” Zoe beamed at her. Her mood shifted in an instant. Then she halted. “Wait. Why is Lemon here, then?” 

“I don’t know, actually. She said that I should have a practice date before going back out into the dating world. But really, I feel like Magnolia had something to do with it.” 

Zoe’s face fell. “Okay then. I better go. I’ve interrupted you long enough and Lemon is heading back to the table. Don’t tell her about any of this, please,” she said, then got up and walked out. 

“Bye,” Crickett shouted after her. She might not have handled this in the best way possible. Crickett would have to figure out a way to fix this. 

\-----

Lemon returned, sitting back down. “What was that all about?” 

“Zoe just wanted some advice,” Crickett said, trying to minimize Lemon’s curiosity. It wasn’t any of her business, after all. Or not exactly. 

“From you?” Lemon looked incredulous. “You’re not friends.” 

“Sometimes that’s better,” Crickett said quietly, trying to indicate to Lemon to leave it at that. She’d promised Zoe she wouldn’t tell Lemon about this, and she wouldn’t. Lemon was her friend and Zoe was not, but this was something Zoe could trust her with 100 percent. 

“I can’t believe she had the gall to interrupt our date,” Lemon said. 

“We’re not on a real date,” Crickett reminded her. 

“Zoe didn’t know that, though. God, that woman drives me crazy.” She paused, thinking. Then she added, “Can I tell you something in confidence, though?” 

“Anything,” Crickett said, and meant it. She and Lemon hadn’t always been on the same page, but they’ve been friends for a very long time. If Lemon needed to get something off her chest, Crickett would be there for her, and keep it to herself. 

“Zoe and I are a weird kind of friends now, or, well, the kind of friends that irritate the hell out of you…” Lemon started. 

Crickett nodded. “Go on.”

“But recently, I’ve had these strange feelings. I’ve been wondering what it would be like to kiss her and… do other things with her,” Lemon said, blushing a shade of red Crickett had never seen on her friend. 

Crickett’s mouth fell open. “What is going on with this town,” she hissed under her breath. 

“Wow. Okay. Not where I thought this conversation was going,” Crickett said out loud. She paused a moment to think. “Well, do you want to do anything about it?” she asked. 

“God, no. Zoe’s straight, as far as we know,” Lemon said.

“You’re straight, as far as everyone else knows,” Crickett said. She didn’t smile, even though she wanted to.

“Good point. But more importantly, Zoe and I irritate each other so much. A relationship between us would never work.” 

Lemon was wrong about that, in so many ways. “Who said anything about a relationship?” Crickett asked. “Have some fun!” 

“I can’t,” Lemon said. “What would Bluebell think of me if I suddenly dated Zoe, of all people?” 

“Hello?” Crickett said. She frowned at Lemon. “May I remind you that I just came out a few months ago?” 

Lemon blushed, and looked contrite. 

“Look, I won’t tell you that it was easy, coming out, and yes, you will get gross comments from certain people. But I’m as surprised as anyone that being out isn’t actually too bad in this town. And you could do so much worse than Zoe Hart, if she were interested,” Crickett said. She smiled and tried to look supportive. 

“I don’t even know if I want to do anything about this, though. Especially with Zoe Hart thrown into the mix. She’s the last person I want to be rejected by. Let’s talk about something else.” 

And Crickett could tell that was that. Lemon was clearly done with that topic, even if Crickett wasn’t. 

But maybe she was, because she’d had to bite her tongue to stop herself from breaking Zoe’s confidence. Not breaking a confidence, though, didn’t mean she couldn’t use the information she got tonight to do something, though. Both Lemon and Zoe deserved to be truly happy, which neither of them had been in a while. She would have to enlist some help. If anyone could make Zoe and Lemon realize their feelings for each other are mutual, it would have to be a team effort. 

Crickett and Lemon finished the rest of their dinner, not talking about the most interesting topic of the evening any longer, though it took a lot of effort on Crickett’s part. She was so happy to no longer feel alone in this town. 

At the end of the night, Crickett hugged Lemon and thanked her for a lovely practice date. Even though their conversation was not at all date-like, she was grateful to see that she could be in a date-like setting with a girl and Bluebell would leave them alone. Well, minus Zoe Hart, but that was a whole other story. 

\---- 

Crickett found Rose at Brick’s practice the next day. 

“Hey, is Zoe here?” Crickett asked.

“No, she just went out for lunch,” Rose said.

Good. Exactly as she’d planned. 

“Okay. Can you let her know I’d love for her to come to my place for dinner tonight? You should come, too,” Crickett said. 

Rose looked a bit confused by the invitation at first, but Crickett could see when the reason for it dawned on her. 

“Is Lemon going to be there, by any chance?” Rose asked. 

Crickett smiled. “There is a chance that she will be. Magnolia was tasked with getting her there. Don’t tell Zoe that, though.” 

Rose nodded, smiled back, and said, “I’ll let Zoe know about the dinner plans.” 

“Great!” Crickett said.

Her plan was starting to take shape. 

\---- 

Zoe and Rose arrived at Crickett’s place together. 

“Hi, come on in,” Crickett said, stepping back from the door to let them in. “Dinner’s almost ready, you can head to the dining room.” 

When they entered the dining room, they saw Lemon and Magnolia sitting there. 

“What are you doing here,” both Zoe and Lemon said at the same time. 

“I invited you both,” Crickett said, by way of explanation. “Rose and Magnolia, could you help me with the vegetables?” she asked. She’d needed Rose and Magnolia there because they were the brain of the operation. If they were to get Zoe and Lemon to admit their feelings for each other, Crickett would need all the help she could get. 

Rose and Magnolia got up to help Crickett. When they were out the door, Crickett hissed “Talk!” in the direction of Lemon and Zoe. 

\---

“What in the world does Crickett think I have to talk to you about?” Lemon asked. “You interrupted our date last night for no reason at all.” She knew she sounded annoyed, but that’s because she was. She still couldn’t believe Zoe wanted to steal Crickett from her. Not that Crickett could be stolen away from her, but Zoe didn’t know that. 

“What if I had a reason? Plus, it wasn’t even a real date. Crickett told me,” Zoe said. 

Okay, so Zoe did know that. “No matter what your reason, it couldn’t have been important enough to interrupt our date. And you didn’t know it was fake when you arrived,” Lemon said. 

“Fine. Maybe I wanted to interrupt your date,” Zoe said.

“Wow,” Lemon hissed. “Are you really that spiteful? Can no one in this town enjoy themselves because God forbid, Zoe Hart doesn’t have a man in her life?” Lemon was irritated, but Zoe also looked so good in her blouse-skirt combination tonight and she could not stop looking at her. It was confusing, to say the least. 

“I don’t need any men in my life, thank you very much. And I can promise you this- it wasn’t out of spite. I just heard about your date and….” Zoe stopped speaking. 

“And what? You had to see for yourself how you could best ruin it for whatever non-spiteful reason you had?” Lemon said. 

“It’s not that… I… can’t talk to you about this,” Zoe said, looking away from Lemon.

Crickett must have heard that because she came back into the living room.

“God, this is so stupid!” She pointed from Lemon to Zoe. “You like her,” then back from Zoe to Lemon, “and you like her,” then she sighed. “Do with that information what you will. We’ll give you some privacy.” 

\---- 

“You what now,” Lemon said at the same time as Zoe said, “You can’t possibly like me, you can barely stand me.” 

“Is this one of our town’s schemes?” Zoe asked. “Because I swear she just said that you like me, and I just can’t imagine that to be true.” 

“Well, what if I do,” Lemon said then. 

Zoe broke out into a wide grin. Lemon wanted to kiss it off her more than ever before. 

“I’d say that it would be pretty interesting if you did like me, as there’s a chance I like you, too,” Zoe said. 

“Only a chance?” Lemon teased, trying not to convey how serious she was about this. She really needed to be sure about Zoe’s feelings. She still wasn’t 100 percent convinced she wasn’t on hidden camera. 

“A very good chance,” Zoe said, with a smile. 

Lemon let herself smile back. “Well, what do we do now?” she asked. 

“I don’t really have any experience dating women, and I don’t know anything,” Zoe said. “Well, apart from the fact that I really want to kiss you,” she added. “That, I do know.” 

Lemon instinctively scooted her chair closer. She couldn’t believe what was happening, and she wasn’t sure if it was a great idea or the worst idea she’s ever had, but in that moment, she didn’t care because Zoe Hart liked her back. 

When their lips met, Lemon forgot everything. All doubts suddenly evaporated and there was only them. Their kiss intensified and when Zoe opened her mouth for Lemon, Lemon couldn’t stop a tiny moan from escaping. She couldn’t believe what she’d been missing. 

\---- 

“Do you hear that?” Rose asked the other two. 

“What,” Magnolia said. She looked like she couldn’t hear a thing.

“Silence,” Rose said. “Do you think they killed each other?” 

“I hope not, I just got my carpet redone,” Crickett said, smiling. “We should better go and check.” 

Rose was grateful that Crickett didn’t close the kitchen door on her way in. That allowed them full view of Lemon and Zoe making out at the dining table. 

They all clasped their hands over their mouths to keep from making a sound. Crickett had to pull them away from the door.

“Good call,” Rose whispered when they were further away from the doorway. 

Lemon and Zoe shouldn’t immediately feel like half of Bluebell knew about them. 

\---- 

Zoe’s first thought was that Lemon felt so good, she almost didn’t understand why they hadn’t done this any sooner. Her second thought was how not at all awkward this moment was, as it had the potential to be very much so. Lemon was a fantastic kisser, and Zoe could see that Lemon was as affected by her as she was by Lemon. 

“Wow,” Zoe said when they broke apart. Then she realized where they were. 

So did Lemon, apparently, as she asked, “Do you think we had an audience?” They were still at the dining table, in full view of the kitchen doorway. 

“Probably. I’m sure this was their plan all along. Evil masterminds, all of them,” Zoe said, smiling. She checked the doorway, but couldn’t see or hear Rose and Crickett. They probably made their way back to the kitchen when they broke apart. Clever. 

“How about we both excuse ourselves and continue this somewhere more private,” Lemon suggested. 

“Great idea! I’ll start,” Zoe whispered, then said out loud in the direction of the kitchen, “Oh no, there’s an emergency at the practice. Gotta go, so sorry I can’t stay for dinner. Thank you so much for the invite, Crickett.” She hurried out the door. 

“Not a problem,” Crickett yelled back. 

\--- 

Crickett, Magnolia, and Rose made their way back into the dining room, bringing some hors d’oeuvres with them. Crickett served some to the other three and they all started eating, but barely a minute into it, Lemon’s phone buzzed.

It was Zoe and they all knew it, but pretended not to when Lemon said, “The construction crew at Fancy’s ran into trouble, I apparently have to go check it out right now,” Lemon told Crickett and Rose. “I’m so sorry.”

They all smiled. “No problem,” Crickett said again. “Hope you can fix it,” she yelled after Lemon when she walked out the door. 

\---

When Lemon had left, Rose chuckled, then asked, “Do you think they know that we know both the practice and the Fancy’s construction site are closed at 8PM on a weekday?” 

Crickett just chuckled, passed a plate of some noodle dish that looked absolutely delicious to Magnolia, and said, “Good thing I only made food for three anyway.” 

Rose and Magnolia high-fived over the table.


End file.
